Getting soaked by Delta water plan

» It was interesting to hear Gov. Jerry Brown's State of the State address Thursday and his comments about water and the Delta.

The following is taken from a transcript of his speech:

"Water. Central to the life of our state is water and one-sixth of that water flows through the San Joaquin Delta.

Silicon Valley, the Livermore Valley, farmers on the East side of the San Joaquin Valley between Fresno and Kern County and farmers on the West side between Tracy and Los Banos, urban Southern California and Northern Contra Costa, all are critically dependent on the Delta for water.

If because of an earthquake, a hundred-year storm or sea level rise, the Delta fails, the disaster would be comparable to Hurricane Katrina or superstorm Sandy: losses of at least $100 billion and 40,000 jobs. I am going to do whatever I can to make sure that does not happen. My proposed plan is two tunnels 30 miles long and 40 feet wide, designed to improve the ecology of the Delta, with almost 100 square miles of habitat restoration. Yes, that is big but so is the problem.

The London Olympics lasted a short while and cost $14 billion, about the same cost as this project. But this project will serve California for hundreds of years."

Let's see, two 40-foot-wide, 30-mile-long tunnels removing water from the Delta to ship elsewhere is supposed to help the habitat? I presume Brown also meant to mention that San Joaquin County farmers would be helped by this measure too.

If an earthquake, storm or rising sea levels are truly the threat to the Delta, as Brown said, wouldn't a primary part of the solution be to improve the levee system?

I didn't hear any mention of that, unless of course that is the code for "habitat restoration."

It has been said many times, folks, but get ready to be INSERT YOUR OWN VERB HERE. Those folks south of us want water, without regard to how it affects our area. Maybe we'll get another prison facility instead of water for agricultural use.

» I want Anthony Silva to be successful as Stockton's mayor for a number of reasons. After all, I do live and work here. If Silva succeeds, then the city must be doing better and we all benefit. But sometimes his actions cause me to shake my head. Last week, he assigned council members' seating for meetings in City Hall. It is the mayor's job to do so. Silva placed the only two women on the council - former Vice Mayor Kathy Miller and newly appointed Councilwoman Dyane Burgos - at opposite ends of the dais. At the very end of the dais.

So they will sit from left to right: Miller, Michael Tubbs, Moses Zapien, Silva, Vice Mayor Paul Canepa, Elbert Holman and Burgos.

Maybe I am being petty, but it just looks bad and creates an "all-boys club" atmosphere. Sometimes it is the subtle things that make all the difference.

» And lastly, it was pointed out recently that very few areas are enjoying what Bay Area sports fans are nowadays. The San Francisco Giants are coming off their second World Series title in three years. The 49ers are in the Super Bowl. The Warriors are resurgent and David Lee is the team's first NBA all-star selection since 1997. The Oakland A's made a surprise run to the playoffs last season too. And the San Jose Sharks are off to a fast start. Even the Raiders are making news - whoops. Two former players, Tim Brown and Jerry Rice, have accused former coach Bill Callahan of deliberately sabotaging the Raiders' chance of winning Super Bowl XXXVII 10 years ago. Callahan called the allegations "ludicrous" and "defamatory."

Contact Donald W. Blount at (209) 546-8251 or dblount@recordnet.com. The Record senior editors' blog is available at recordnet.com/editorblog.

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